You are here

Henry I. Miller

Biography:

Henry I. Miller, MS, MD, was the Robert Wesson Fellow in Scientific Philosophy and Public Policy at the Hoover Institution. His research focused on public policy toward science and technology, encompassing a number of areas, including pharmaceutical development, genetic engineering in agriculture, models for regulatory reform, and the emergence of new viral diseases.

Miller served for fifteen years at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a number of posts. He was the medical reviewer for the first genetically engineered drugs to be evaluated by the FDA and thus instrumental in the rapid licensing of human insulin and human growth hormone. Thereafter, he was a special assistant to the FDA commissioner and the founding director of the FDA's Office of Biotechnology. During his government service, Miller participated frequently on various expert and policy panels as a representative of the FDA or the US government. As a government official, Miller received numerous awards and citations.

During his time at the Hoover Institution, Miller has become well known not only for his contributions to scholarly journals but also for his articles and books that make science, medicine, and technology accessible. His work has been widely published in many languages. Monographs include Policy Controversy in Biotechnology: An Insider's View; To America's Health: A Model for Reform of the Food and Drug Administration; and The Frankenfood Myth: How Protest and Politics Threaten the Biotech Revolution. Barron's selected The Frankenfood Myth as one of the 25 Best Books of 2004. In addition, Miller has published extensively in a wide spectrum of scholarly journals and popular publications worldwide, including The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, Science, the Nature family of journals, Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes, National Review, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the Guardian, Defining Ideas, and the Financial Times. He was a regulator contributor to Forbes.com and frequently appeared on the nationally syndicated radio programs of John Batchelor and Lars Larson.

Miller was selected by the editors of Nature Biotechnology as one of the people who had made the "most significant contributions" to biotechnology during the previous decade. He serves on numerous editorial boards.

Filter By:

Topic

Economic Policy

Business & Labor

Economic Theory

Fiscal Policy

Global Policy

Government Regulation

Monetary Policy

Education

Federal Policy

Teachers & Teaching

Energy, Science & Technology

Energy

Environment

Natural Resources

Science

Technology

Foreign Affairs & National Security

Cybersecurity

Defense

Foreign Policy

International Organizations & Politics

Terrorism

Health Care

History

Military

Political

US

World

Law

Enforcement

Federal

Property Rights

US Politics

California

Elections

Executive

Federalism

Legislative

State & Local

Values & Social Policy

Culture

Family & Marriage

Housing

Race & Gender

Religion

Values

Type

Articles

Books

Podcasts

Recent Commentary

Contrary to Article I of the U.S. Constitution, which vests all legislative power in the Congress, federal agencies can expand their jurisdiction by forcefully pushing policy initiatives into regulatory regimes for which they were never intended.

On October 31 marks the 35th anniversary of an event that launched an important new era in pharmaceutical development – the approval by the FDA of human insulin synthesized in genetically engineered bacteria—the world’s first recombinant DNA drug product. As the medical reviewer of the product and the head of the review team, I had a front-row seat.

In spite of the lack of scientific justification for skepticism about crops modified with molecular techniques of genetic engineering, they have been the most scrutinized agricultural products in human history. The assumption that “genetically engineered” or “genetically modified” is a meaningful – and dangerous – classification has led to excessive and dilatory regulation.

Sloppy lawmaking that needs to be neutralized by baroque, inventive work-arounds makes for bad public policy. We’re seeing that currently in the patenting arena: Clever lawyers have devised surprising ways to circumvent glitches in the system that have evolved as the result of legislation and court decisions. The situation cries out for a legislative fix to put an end to the legal maneuvering.

In spite of the lack of scientific justification for skepticism about crops modified with molecular techniques of genetic engineering, they have been the most scrutinized agricultural products in human history.

Russia, like the Soviet Union before it, is experienced at employing surrogates and agents of various stripes and talents to further its agendas. The most recent example was a “trending topic” story on Facebook about the Las Vegas shooting published by Sputnik, a news agency controlled by the Russian government; the item claimed, inaccurately, that the FBI had found a connection between the shooter and Daesh, also known as ISIS.

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) will tackle “key problems” in the industry at its October 6 annual board meeting including optimizing agricultural water usage and improving soil health. And while those issues are important, FFAR is ignoring the most pressing issue in the industry — excessive and wrong-headed government regulation.

Support the Hoover Institution

Help Advance Ideas Defining a Free Society

Become engaged in a community that shares an interest in the mission of the Hoover Institution to advance policy ideas that promote economic opportunity and prosperity, while securing and safeguarding peace for America and all mankind.

The opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.